100 MACWORLD OCTOBER 2019
WORKINGMAC 10 MAC KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
between the two (or more) documents. I
find it’s particularly helpful if I’m working
on a MacBook with a smaller screen
where the split-view interface might feel
too cramped.
- FORCE-QUIT AN APP
⌘-Option-Q: If an app is locked up (and
⌘-Q isn’t working for whatever reason),
use this shortcut to force the app to quit.
You can also choose multiple apps to
force-quit by pressing ⌘-Option-Esc
(Escape), which is much like using
Control-Alt-Delete on a PC. Instead of the
Task Manager, though, you’ll get a
window that says Force Quit Applications
and you can choose which app you want
to close from there. - QUICKLY ACCESS THE
SEARCH/ADDRESS BAR IN
SAFARI
⌘-L: Reaching for your mouse to activate
Safari’s search bar wastes a lot of time.
Press this shortcut while you’re using
Safari, and the cursor will jump up to the
search bar, where you can type out either
a search term or a URL. This shortcut also
works with Google Chrome. (You can also
use it on Windows with the Control key.)
Safari has some other great keyboard
shortcuts, too: ⌘-T opens a new tab, and
⌘-Z reopens the last tab you (possibly
accidentally) closed. If you want to reopen
an accidentally closed tab in Chrome or
Opera, you can press ⌘-Shift-T.
- IMMEDIATELY LOCK
YOUR MAC
⌘-Control-Q: If you’re stepping away from
your desk at home or the office and you
don’t want someone snooping around on
your Mac, press this shortcut and your Mac
will immediately switch to the lock screen.
It’s a heck of a lot faster than doing it
through the menu bar. - USE QUICK LOOK TO
PREVIEW FILES
Click-Spacebar: If you want to see what
a file looks like but you don’t want to
waste time opening the associated app,
select the file in a Finder folder and then
press the spacebar. (This also works
with files on the desktop.) A full-page
preview will pop up—and with Markup
options, too. This works for everything
from images and PDFs to Microsoft
Excel files.
You can also select multiple files
to preview at once by holding down
the Command key as you select them
and then pressing ⌘+Y. (⌘+Y also
works for single files, but in that case
it’s less convenient.) Once that window
is open, you can navigate between
the files with the arrow keys in the
upper left. ■